The following races can be used in this campaign setting and have lore provided to be included in players backstory to in order to make the characters more integrated into the world.
Born of dragons, as their name proclaims, the dragonborn walk proudly through a world that greets them with fearful incomprehension. Shaped from a curse that was put on the dragons that fought during the War of the Titans, dragonborn originally hatched from dragon eggs as a unique race, combining the attributes of dragons and humanoids. Some dragonborn are faithful servants to true dragons, others form the ranks of soldiers in wars, and still others find themselves adrift, with no clear calling in life.
It is rumored that the dragonborn first hatched from somewhere in the Arizona. A palaced ruled by the Dragonborn is rumored to exist somewhere in New Mexico, but none have made from there and lived to tell the tale.
Young dragonborn grow quickly. They walk hours after hatching, attain the size and development of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 3, and reach adulthood by 12. They live to be around 100 to 120 years old.
Dwarves are a stoic but stern race, ensconced in cities carved from the hearts of mountains and fiercely determined to repel the depredations of savage races like orcs and goblins. More than any other race, dwarves have acquired a reputation as dour and humorless artisans of the earth. It could be said that their history shapes the dark disposition of many dwarves, for they reside in high mountains and dangerous realms below the earth, constantly at war with giants, goblins, and other such horrors.
Dwarves are lovers of history and tradition, and their long lifespan leads to far less in the way of generational shifts in attitudes, styles, fashions, and trends than shorter-lived races exhibit. If a thing is not broken, they do not fix it or change it; and if it is broken, they fix it rather than replace it. Thrifty as a rule, dwarves are loath to discard anything unless it is truly ruined and unable to be fixed. At the same time, dwarves’ meticulous, near-obsessive attention to detail and durability in their craftsmanship makes that a rare occurrence, as the things they make are built to last. As a result, buildings, artwork, tools, housewares, garments, weapons, and virtually everything else made by dwarves still sees regular use at an age when such items would be relegated to museum pieces, dusty antique shelves, or junkyard fodder by other races. Taken together, these traits create the impression that dwarves are a race frozen in time.
Nothing could be further from the truth, however, as dwarves are both thoughtful and imaginative, willing to experiment, if always keen to refine and perfect a new technique or product before moving on to the next one. Dwarves have achieved feats of metallurgy, stonework, and engineering that have consistently outpaced the technological advances of other races, though some non-dwarven races have used magic to supplement and perfect their own creations to achieve the same ends through mystical rather than mundane means. They are also a race typified by stubborn courage and dedication to seeing tasks through to completion, whatever the risks. These traits have led dwarves to explore and settle in extreme environments that would cause other races to quail and retreat. From the darkest depths of the underworld to the highest mountain peaks, from rusting iron citadels along desolate rocky coasts to squat jungle ziggurats, dwarves have established their enclaves and redoubts, holding them against all comers or perishing to the last and leaving only their enduring monuments to stand as their legacy. While it is said that dwarves are not venturesome or inventive, it would be more accurate to say that they maintain a focus on and dedication to each task they undertake and every change they adopt, vetting such changes thoroughly before adopting them wholeheartedly. When faced with new circumstances and new needs, they react by applying tried and true tools and techniques systematically, using existing methods whenever possible rather than trying to invent novel solutions for every situation. If necessity requires, however, they throw themselves with equal vigor into developing the next perfect procedure for demolishing the obstacles that get in their way. Once their desired goal is obtained, they focus on consolidating each new piece of territory or conceptual advance. Dwarves thus rarely overextend themselves, but they also may miss opportunities to seize the initiative and maximize the advantages they create.
Four major groups of dwarves exist in the New World.
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East Coast: The dwarves from the East Coast came to the lands with the humans, gnomes, halfings, tiefling during the pilgrimage from the old land. Once arriving in New York the dwarves spread to the north and south of the lands - some taking to the mountains of the Upper Penisula of Michigan, while others ventured into Canada. These dwarves are also called the "Hill Dwarves" in the Players Handbook.
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West Coast: The dwarves from the West Coast came to the lands with the elves, gnomes, and tiefling from the lands of Asia in the Old World. These dwarves are also called the "Mountain Dwarves" in the Players Handbook.
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Canada : Dwarves from the east and west coasts eventually moved to the northern mountains areas and made there home in the mountains here building large fortress. These dwarves are called the "Mark of Warding Dwarf" in D&D Beyond.
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Washington/Idaho: In cities deep in the Underdark live the duergar, or gray dwarves. The duergar fled from the lands of the New World when the dwarves and gnomes of from the Old World arrived. Agreements over land drove them deep underground. The times living in the dark and locked away from the sun turned them into vicious, stealthy slave traders raid the surface world for captives, then sell their prey to the other races of the Underdark. They have innate magical abilities to become invisible and to temporarily grow to giant size.
Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they’re considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years.
The long-lived elves are children of the natural world, similar in many superficial ways to fey creatures, though with key differences. While fey are truly linked to the flora and fauna of their homes, existing as the nearly immortal voices and guardians of the wilderness, elves are instead mortals who are in tune with the natural world around them. Elves seek to live in balance with the wild and understand it better than most other mortals. Some of this understanding is mystical, but an equal part comes from the elves’ long lifespans, which in turn gives them long-ranging outlooks. Elves can expect to remain active in the same locale for centuries. By necessity, they must learn to maintain sustainable lifestyles, and this is most easily done when they work with nature, rather than attempting to bend it to their will. However, their links to nature are not entirely driven by pragmatism. Elves’ bodies slowly change over time, taking on a physical representation of their mental and spiritual states, and those who dwell in a region for a long period of time find themselves physically adapting to match their surroundings, most noticeably taking on coloration that reflects the local environment.
Elves value their privacy and traditions, and while they are often slow to make friends at both the personal and national levels, once an outsider is accepted as a comrade, the resulting alliances can last for generations. Elves take great joy in forging alliances with races that share or exceed their long lifetimes, and often work to befriend dragons, outsiders, and fey. Those elves who spend their lives among the short-lived races, on the other hand, often develop a skewed perception of mortality and become morose, the result of watching wave after wave of companions age and die before their eyes.
The elves mostly came to the lands from Asia in the old world when they heard word of a new continent being discovered by the humans. Quickly the sailed out and discovered Seattle and Los Angeles. When arriving in Seattle - the found an existing race of elves living in this land. At first the elves got a long and shared the lands, but within years the elves from the old world started to "lust" and show forms of greed where they wanted to own the land vs share it. This started a battle between the old world elves and the new world elves. Eventually the old world elves drove the new world elves from the land and underground, which they eventually became the Drow. The tabaxi people knowing something was wrong figured out the change in attitude was caused from a local fruit that they started to consume that was poison to the elves. The tabaxi working with the humans created a cure for this and thus saved the elves from themselves.
Three major groups of elves exist in the New World:
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High Elves: The high elves are driven by tradition and respect of the past. With centuries to devote to there studies, the elves are masters of there crafts. The high elves make their home in the West Coast. Many high elves have studied some form of the arcane arts and still believe that magic and the spirits of the world are still valid in a land where the humans are moving to strike the practice of the arcane from there schools and cities. The high elves instead embrace the arcane and have large libraries dedicated to the study of it. Many high elves are bard, cleric, druids, monk, paladins, wizards, sorcerers, rangers, and warlocks.
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Wood Elves: The wood elves are driven by an appreciation for the earth and the lands. The wood elves live off the ground in great cities in the large trees of Northern California. Wood Elves will protect the earth at all costs which sometimes can come across as more violent than there high elf cousins. The wood elves are skilled animal handlers and have a great relationship with other races including Tabaxi, Kenku, and humans that also love the land. Because the wood elves believe in Gaia and the spirit of the land and animals, they tend to focus toward druids, rangers, bards, cleric, and monk.
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Drow: In cities deep in the Underdark live the drow, or dark elves. The drow fled from the lands of the New World when the elves and dwarves of from the Old World arrived. Agreements over ownership of land and a disease of lust and greed from the high elves drove them deep underground after loosing several battles. Looking for power and the will to survive the cruel underworld, the dark elves started to follow the ways of Lolth, one of the old gods. The times living in the dark and locked away from the sun turned them into vicious, stealthy assassins that go to the surface world to attack and make the surface dwellers whom drove them from there original home. Many drow are fighters, druid, monk, ranger, rogue, warlock, wizard, and sorcerers. They have innate magical abilities to cast some spells like darkness, dancing lights, and faerie fire.
Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.
A constant hum of busy activity pervades the warrens and neighborhoods where gnomes form their close-knit communities. Louder sounds punctuate the hum: a crunch of grinding gears here, a minor explosion there, a yelp of surprise or triumph, and especially bursts of laughter. Gnomes take delight in life, enjoying every moment of invention, exploration, investigation, creation, and play. They have a bond with the dwarves and it is normal to see many gnomes working in the various towns and fortresses that the dwarves control.
Curious and impulsive, gnomes might take up adventuring as a way to see the world or for the love of exploring. As lovers of gems and other fine items, some gnomes take to adventuring as a quick, if dangerous, path to wealth. Regardless of what spurs them to adventure, gnomes who adopt this way of life eke as much enjoyment out of it as they do out of any other activity they undertake, sometimes to the great annoyance of their adventuring companions.
The gnomes came to the new world with both the humans settling on the East Coast and on the West Coast via the elves and dwarves. Always the explorer they explored with the other races spreading across the vast New World.
The gnomes have a very close relationship with the dwarves and there isn't a single dwarven settlement that doesn't have some group of gnomes working with them, taking the materials that they mine and making great items with them. The dwarves look up to them for there great tinkering abilities and treat them as great allies.
Gnomes mature at the same rate humans do, and most are expected to settle down into an adult life by around age 40. They can live 350 to almost 500 years.
Elves have long drawn the covetous gazes of other races. Their generous lifespans, magical affinity, and inherent grace each contribute to the admiration or bitter envy of their neighbors. Of all their traits, however, none so entrance their human associates as their beauty. Since the two races first came into contact with each other, humans have held up elves as models of physical perfection, seeing in these fair folk idealized versions of themselves. For their part, many elves find humans attractive despite their comparatively barbaric ways, and are drawn to the passion and impetuosity with which members of the younger race play out their brief lives.
Sometimes this mutual infatuation leads to romantic relationships. Though usually short-lived, even by human standards, such trysts may lead to the birth of half-elves, a race descended from two cultures yet inheritor of neither. Half-elves can breed with one another, but even these “pureblood” half-elves tend to be viewed as bastards by humans and elves alike. Caught between destiny and derision, half-elves often view themselves as the middle children of the world.
Half-elves understand loneliness, and know that character is often less a product of race than of life experience. As such, they are often open to friendships and alliances with other races, and less likely than most to rely on first impressions when forming opinions of new acquaintances. While many races join together to produce mixed offspring of notable power, such as half-orcs, dragonborn, and tiefling, half-elves seem to have a unique position in the eyes of their progenitors and the rest of the world. Those humans who admire elvenkind see half-elves as a living link or bridge between the two races. But this attitude often foists unfair expectations and elevated standards upon half-elves, and quickly turns to derision when they do not live up to the grand destinies that others set for them. Additionally, those half-elves raised by or in the company of elves often have the human half of their parentage dubbed a mere obstacle, something to be overcome with proper immersion and schooling in the elven ways, and even the most well-meaning elven mentors often push their half-elven charges to reject a full half of themselves in order to “better” themselves.
Half-Elves can be found in every major city and came over from the old lands with both the elves, dwarves, and humans on the West Coast and with the humans, dwarves, and halfings on the East Coast.
Half-elves mature at the same rate humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than humans, however, often exceeding 180 years.
Optimistic and cheerful by nature, blessed with uncanny luck, and driven by a powerful wanderlust, halflings make up for their short stature with an abundance of bravado and curiosity. At once excitable and easy-going, halflings like to keep an even temper and a steady eye on opportunity, and are not as prone to violent or emotional outbursts as some of the more volatile races. Even in the jaws of catastrophe, halflings almost never lose their sense of humor. Their ability to find humor in the absurd, no matter how dire the situation, often allows halflings to distance themselves ever so slightly from the dangers that surround them. This sense of detachment can also help shield them from terrors that might immobilize their allies.
Halflings are inveterate opportunists. They firmly believe they can turn any situation to their advantage, and sometimes gleefully leap into trouble without any solid plan to extricate themselves if things go awry. Often unable to physically defend themselves from the rigors of the world, they know when to bend with the wind and when to hide away. Yet halflings’ curiosity often overwhelms their good sense, leading to poor decisions and narrow escapes. While harsh experience sometimes teaches halflings a measure of caution, it rarely makes them completely lose faith in their luck or stop believing that the universe, in some strange way, exists for their entertainment and would never really allow them to come to harm. Though their curiosity drives them to seek out new places and experiences, halflings possess a strong sense of hearth and home, often spending above their means to enhance the comforts of domestic life. Without a doubt, halflings enjoy luxury and comfort, but they have equally strong reasons to make their homes a showcase. Halflings consider this urge to devote time, money, and energy toward improving their dwellings a sign of both respect for strangers and affection for their loved ones. Whether for their own blood kin, cherished friends, or honored guests, halflings make their homes beautiful in order to express their feelings toward those they welcome inside. Even traveling halflings typically decorate their wagons or carry a few cherished keepsakes to adorn their campsites.
Halflings came over with both the elves and dwarves on the West Coast and the humans, dwarves, and gnomes on the East Coast, setting in just about every major city in the New World.
A halfling reaches adulthood at the age of 20 and generally lives into the middle of his or her second century.
At the highest mountain peaks — far above the slopes where trees grow and where the air is thin and the frigid winds howl — dwell the goliath. Before the Titan Wars the Hill Giants were an intelligent race of beings that roamed the plains as far north as North Dakota and far south as Missouri. A friendship grew between the humans and the giants when they decided to band together in order to defeat the titans, eventually leading to the start of the Goliath race. Early on they had a hard time blending into either society and after the curse was put on the Hill Giants after the Titan war, they fled north into Canada to the cold mountains, making allies with the Dwarves looking to trade.
The Goliath are small in numbers and prefer to stay in tribes or bands with the rules of honor guiding them. The Goliath are very driven competitors and have the compulsion to keep score, counting there deeds and kills, tallying their accomplishments to compare to others. Goliaths love to win, but will always look at defeat as a lesson to point out how to improve.
Around 900 AT the Goliaths starting to roam south when there lands stopped growing crops and animals became scarce.
Goliaths have lifespans that last a big longer than human, living to be between 100 and 120 years. They enter adulthood in their early teens and usually live just over a century.
As seen by civilized races, half-orcs are large creatures that look more like there Orc ancestry than there human. Half-orcs are the result of unions between the humans and orcs living in the Orc Plains. They usually forced to grow up hard and fast, constantly fighting for protection or to make names for themselves. Half-orcs as a whole resent this treatment, and rather than play the part of the victim, they tend to lash out, unknowingly confirming the biases of those around them.
By 500 AT many feared, distrusted, and spat-upon half-orcs manage to surprise their detractors with great deeds and unexpected wisdom—though sometimes it’s easier just to crack a few skulls. Some half-orcs spend their entire lives proving to full-blooded orcs that they are just as powerful. Others opt for trying to blend into human society, constantly demonstrating that they aren’t the wild hunters and barbarians of the great plains. Their need to always prove themselves worthy encourages half-orcs to strive for power and greatness within the society around them.
Half-Orc can found all around the lands in most major cities and while large are welcome in most establishments.
Half-orcs mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably faster due to cancer forming in there genetics and rarely live longer than 80 years.
Humans possess exceptional drive and a great capacity to endure and expand, and as such are currently one of the dominant races in the New World. The citizens of these societies carve names for themselves with the strength of their sword arms and the power of their spells. Humanity is best characterized by its tumultuousness and diversity, and human cultures run the gamut from savage but honorable tribes to decadent, devil-worshiping noble families in the most cosmopolitan cities. Humans’ curiosity and ambition often over their predilection for a sedentary lifestyle, and many leave their homes to explore the innumerable forgotten corners of the world or lead mighty armies to conquer their neighbors, simply because they can.
Human society is a strange amalgam of nostalgia and futurism, being enamored of past glories and wistfully remembered “golden ages of the old world,” yet at the same time quick to discard tradition and history and strike off into new ventures and claiming the lands of the new world. Relics of the past are kept as prized antiques and museum pieces, as humans love to collect things—not only inanimate relics but also living creatures—to display for their amusement or to serve by their side. Other races suggest this behavior is due to a deep-rooted urge to dominate and assert power in the human psyche, an urge to take, till, or tame the wild things and places of the world. Those with a more charitable view believe humans are simply collectors of experiences, and the things they take and keep, whether living, dead, or never alive, are just tokens to remind themselves of the places they have gone, the things they have seen, and the deeds they have accomplished. Their present and future value is just a bonus; their real value is as an ongoing reminder of the inevitable progress of humanity.
The humans primarily came over to the new world and settled on the East Coast with bands of dwarves and halfings, while in the time on the new lands have forged friendships with some of the native races of the new world like the Orc and Hill Giants (during the Titan War thanks to the pushing help of the Kenku). Some humans from the lands of Asia did settle on the West Coast, but there numbers are very small.
Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live just over a century (around 100 to 110 years old).
Once great users of the arcane arts, the Kenku are haunted by an ancient curse that robbed them of their wings and voice. The once noble kenku now wander the new world as vagabonds and burglars who live at the edge of society. Kenku suffer from a sinister reputation that is not wholly unearned, but they can prove to be valuable allies.
Before the times of the Titans the Kenku were peace keepers and were native to the lands of the new world with there home of Kara-Tur being a grand city in the trees and grass that was native to this land.
The Kenku discovered the plot of the titans to rule over all the lands and people and banded the various races of people and even got to Dragons and Giants to put aside there differences in order to drive the old gods from the lands. During the final battle one of the old gods laid a curse on all future born Kenku in the land that they would not be able to speak or fly.
Kenku born since the fall of the titans have struggled and many still look for a way to break the curse.
The Kenku often war with the Lizardfolk and Yuati in the swamps of Lousiania.
Kenku have shorter lifespans than humans. They reach maturity at about 12 years old and can live to 60.
To play this class you need to purchase or must have a license to use Volo's Guide to Monsters as this race is not included in the Players Handbook.
The Orc are a medium sized species of creatures that are native to the new world and roam the great plains. These barbarian tribes are nomadic in nature and roam the plains hunting food and living off the lands. Not much is known about these creatures although if you ask some of the shamans of the tribes they will tell you great stories of there ancestors travels from the great jungles of the south, through the desert sands to find they home they roam today.
Since the arrival of the various races on the East Coast and West Coast the orc have struggled to keep the "old ways" alive. The Orc refused to convert over from there spiritual religion that dictated all living things and the earth itself has a spirit called Gaia that when you leave this world you go to be with. Many missionary trips were spent by the humans going to the various Orc tribes to try and teach them of the old gods (Titans). Most tribes respected that there views were different and asked them to leave if they were to disrespect the great spirit.
This came into light when the old gods (Titans) came to the new world and threated all the races. The Orc banded together with the other races to drive them from the lands and thus earned respect and are welcome in most cities across the lands. To this day the Orc still worship the great spirit.
Orcs mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They live to be about 75.
You use the Orc of Exandra stats and description to place this race in the new world in D&D Beyond. Because of this you need to purchase or must have a license to use Explorer's Guide to Wildemount as this version of the race is not included in the Players Handbook.
Hailing from a strange and distant land of Mexico, the wandering tabaxi are catlike humanoids driven by curiosity to collect interesting artifacts, gather tales and stories, and lay eyes on all the world’s wonders. Ultimate nomads, the inquisitive tabaxi rarely stay in one place for long. Their innate nature pushes them to leave no secrets uncovered, no treasures or legends lost.
The tabaxi are native to the new world and legions state they traveled from the dangerous jungles of South America where large lizard like creatures called Dinosaurs roam the lands. Most tabaxi group together and remain in there distant jungle lands. These tabaxi hunt for food, craft goods, and largely keep to themselves.
Not all tabaxi are satisfied by this lifestyle and long for adventure. Eventually this drove them north where they settled and created the port city of Miami, and the west coastal city of San Diego. Since they they have spread throughout the cities of the new lands can many can be found in the streets of New York with wondering the lands of Georgia, Canada, Northern California, Oregon, and Washington.
The tabaxi made friends quickly with the elves of Washington and stories passed down from generations ago state they helped the elves break the "lust" that plagued them when they settled into Seattle. Because of this, the elves treat the Tabaxi as one of there own. The elves of San Francisco got along with the tabaxi so much that they traveled with them south to eventually discover and settle in the city of San Diego.
Tabaxi have lifespans equivalent to humans and while ancient stories claim they have 9 lives - no proof has been provided to these claims.
To play this class you need to purchase or must have a license to use Volo's Guide to Monsters as this race is not included in the Players Handbook.
Simultaneously more and less than mortal, tieflings are the offspring of humans and fiends when a band of humans were banished from the lands during a war in the old world. Eventually finding there way back, the tieflings have traveled with the various races of the world since. With otherworldly blood and traits to match, tieflings are often shunned and despised out of reactionary fear. Most tieflings never know their fiendish sire, as the coupling that produced their curse occurred generations earlier. The taint is long-lasting and persistent, often manifesting at birth or sometimes later in life, as a powerful, though often unwanted, boon. Despite their fiendish appearance and netherworld origins, tieflings have a human’s capacity of choosing their fate, and while many embrace their dark heritage and side with fiendish powers, others reject their darker predilections. Though the power of their blood calls nearly every tiefling to fury, destruction, and wrath, even the spawn of a succubus can become a saint and the grandchild of a pit fiend an unsuspecting hero.
Tieflings in the New World rarely create their own settlements and holdings. Instead, they live on the fringes of the land where they were born or choose to settle. Most societies view tieflings as aberrations or curses, but in cultures where there are frequent interactions with summoned fiends, and especially where the worship of demons, devils, or other evil outsiders is legal or obligatory, tieflings might be much more populous and accepted, even cherished as blessings of their fiendish overlords. Tieflings seldom see another of their own kind, and thus they usually simply adopt the culture and mannerisms of their human parents. On other planes, tieflings form enclaves of their own kind. But often such enclaves are less than harmonious—the diversity of tiefling forms and philosophies is an inherent source of conflict between members of the race, and cliques and factions constantly form in an ever-shifting hierarchy where only the most opportunistic or devious gain advantage. Only those of common bloodlines or those who manage to divorce their worldview from the inherently selfish, devious, and evil nature of their birth manage to find true acceptance, camaraderie, and common ground among others of their kind.
Due to there human blood, Tieflings mature at the same rate as humans but live to be over a century old, ranging from (140 to 160 years old)